Water plans at issue
 Polygamist sect's plant would dump waste into Concho tributary
 
By Eric Finley and Matt Phinney
San Angelo Standard-Times
 
A plan by an area polygamist sect to build a wastewater treatment plant near the South Concho River is drawing fire from San Angelo's state representative.

State Rep. Scott Campbell said he will call a public hearing to oppose the plant, which would dump treated wastewater into a tributary of the South Concho River near Eldorado in Schleicher County. The South Concho River flows north of Eldorado into Twin Buttes Reservoir, one of five reservoirs that form San Angelo's water supply.

"We certainly don't want that coming into our water system," Campbell said. "We are going to do everything we can to keep that from happening."

According to state law, a public hearing requested by a state official must be held. The law also calls for the Texas Commission of Environment Quality to review the proposal several times and take public comment before a hearing. No action is imminent. A public hearing includes testimony from experts in front of an administrative judge.

The city of Eldorado has a permit that allows it to dump treated wastewater into a Concho River tributary.

The city's dump site is about six miles upstream from where the new plant might be built, said Ricky Anderson, regional director for the TCEQ. The town's dump site is along a different tributary, where water normally doesn't flow until heavy rainfall, Anderson said.

Still, the city's dump site "is in the Colorado River Basin and a tributary to the South Concho," Anderson said.

Anderson said the agency has received a permit request from the YFZ Ranch north of Eldorado, home to members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Many of the people on the 1,600-acre ranch practice polygamy.

Details of the permit request, such as the amount of treated wastewater the plant will discharge, are not yet public, Anderson said.

The sect has been living on the ranch since March with little contact between it and its neighbors. Church officials have repeatedly refused to talk to reporters. Calls to the group's attorney in Utah were not returned Friday.

Eldorado, a town of 1,950 people, is 43 miles south of San Angelo.

The Upper Colorado River Authority, a state agency that protects the rivers surrounding San Angelo, also will oppose the permit request, said Stephen Brown, a consultant with the authority.

The sect drew attention in March when a former member said church members were moving to the property. Schleicher County officials said construction of the compound continues on the property. No one knows how many people are living there.

Schleicher County is not in Campbell's district. The county is represented by state Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, who could not be reached Friday.

Campbell said it is appropriate for him to act because the treatment plant could harm San Angelo's water.

"They are building another town out there," Campbell said. "They are going to have to deal with things according to state law and in a way that won't affect anyone in the area adversely."

In July, church officials asked Eldorado to store wastewater from the ranch at the city's sewer facility until a suitable plant could be built onsite. Eldorado officials asked for a formal request from the church, including information such as how the group planned to pay the city for services and how long the city would need to take the wastewater.

The city never received a formal request and never accepted the wastewater.

Taking the wastewater would have provided revenue for the city, Mayor John Nikolauk said. Residents were vocal in opposition against accepting the water during several Eldorado City Council meetings.

Nikolauk said he believes the church has a right to build the plant as long as it meets all governmental regulations.

"I don't think there is anything to fear," he said. "As long as they meet all requirements and submit their monthly reports, anything that goes in there must be safe. Unless someone can prove otherwise, you go with it. TCEQ will do its job."

The TCEQ issued a 200-page report in July listing various environmental violations on the property. The violations included several leaky septic tanks that were spilling sewage onto the ground, as well as the illegal burning of paint, aerosol cans and oil filters.
 
sanangelostandardtimes.com
Originally published December 18, 2004
 
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